Updates and Questions

I will be updating the side bar and running some profiles and thoughts on the major contenders pretty soon.

Classes are starting here so things are hectic. But I promise I'll get around to it.

Thanks.

For now, what do you guys think about this season? Have any ideas about sleeper noms or clear frontrunner? Who is a shoe-in? Who needs some help?

P.S. I'm lovin' that "Atonement" got some raves from its first screening. More on that later.

Superbad

Well, I have found a group of comic actors with the stick together qualities of the Vince Vaughn-Owen Wilson-Will Ferrell clique that I don't actually hate. The Judd Apatow group is the new Ferrell group, and they didn't just replace, they freakin' out performed!

Superbad, the new Seth Rogen penned comedy featuring the ever hilarious Jonah Hill (Knocked Up) and Michael Cera (Arrested Development), is the funniest movie of the summer. A throwback to the Dazed and Confused movies where high school students act like the hedonistic characters they are, Superbad is SuperAwesome! Taking place in just one day, the story focuses on Seth and Evan's quest for alcohol, popularity, and of course, vagina.

Starting right off the bat with some of the most original (and let's admit it....hilarious) shock humor to grace the silver screen, the movie quickly becomes a fascinating exploration of a truly unique relationship. While initially Seth and Evan live in a world where nothing but women matter, the truth, as it usually does, reveals itself: the only people they really care about are each other. Unfortunately the scripts only weak point is the transition into said emotional area. It was break neck! Funny one second, dramatic whiplash the next. Fortunately the tangible chemistry between the two not only saves the impractical scene, but makes us care as well.

Rogen's cop and the formidable "Fogell" add some incredibly entertaining supporting characters, but that is their only real role: blatant humor ("I have a boner!") The acting across the board achieves what it is supposed to: a believable cast of high school students who actually act their age. And the script and director fortunately do their jobs as well: avoiding self-importance, and existing as if they don't at all.

The bottom line is, Superbad is hilarious, and fun. And if you can get past the randomly indulgent spat near the beginning of the third act, then the movie is damn near perfect. See it!

RATING: B+

The Lovely Bones

Alright, I know this is way premature, but I am loving the casting for the 2008 project The Lovely Bones, adapted from Alice Sebold nearly infamous book about a little girl who is raped and murdered, spending her time after death watching her family cope.

Let's run this down:

Peter Jackson is directing - Hopefully it stays under 3 hours

Rachel Weisz and Ryan Gosling are the grieving parents - LOVE both of these actors and with Half Nelson and The Constant Gardner giving them both Oscar attention in the last few years, they will be on the radar REAL fast.

Susan Sarandon as the grandmother - If she doesn't win for In The Valley Of Elah this year, then she very well might next year. This role is an amazingly baity role.

Saoirse Ronan as Susie, the victim - If the attention for Atonement isn't the perfect momentum going into this role, then I don't know what is. If her performance this year gets enough attention, little Ronan could be looking at back to back nods.

AND MY FAVORITE!!!

STANLEY TUCCI as George Harvey, the killer - SO HAPPY! After one of his best (and totally underrated) performances last year in The Devil Wears Prada, Tucci looked to breaking out of his job as the actor who's face you know but not his name. This is the best role in the movie, and he is already my front-runner for winning in 2008.

I know all of this is premature, but I'm lovin' it.

The Kite Runner

The fact of the matter is, really famous books have a history of not doing so well at the Oscars (Cold Mountain, Memoirs Of A Geisha), while little known ones do better.

I'm nervous about this one, but the trailer is hot like fire, and the setting is political and very current so who knows?

Reservation Road Trailer

Well apparently YouTube has taken down the trailer, so here is another link to check it out. Don't understand why Focus Features would take it down, but that's that I suppose.

Check it out here

Here We Go Again!

So as some of you know, I don't really believe in making predictions for the following year right after the awards show is over, so I usually end up holding off until festival season to get my first round of predictions up.

I will be doing a profile of each major category as I get to it, but I have a my first round of predics on the sidebar.

Next post should be focusing on the supporting categories.

Check it out and let me know what you think!